Building the Gerr Marine Offshore Skiff

[mhtimber]

Hi folks,

This is my first post to this forum but I'm a big fan of Festool and have already switched many of my tools to this brand.

For those of you interested in boat building I am just starting a project to build a 28' OffShore Skiff designed by Dave Gerr of Gerr Marine.

I am documenting the project on my blog, Sustainable Boat, and maintaining a running thread on the Wooden Boat Forum.

So far the track saw has been invaluable to the accuracy of the work and pleasure of the project.

I welcome any and all comments, guidance and suggestions on the project.

Cheers
Jeff

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Jeff, welcome to the forum. 

We look forward to seeing your progress on this project.  Seems like quite the undertaking! 

There are a number of boat building schools that use Festool.  In fact, I did an article in our email newsletter about the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding last year.  We also have some members who are boat owners who use Festool sanders in particular.

Shane

 

[mhtimber]

Thanks Shane; Festool makes some really great products, I love working with them.

I have the RO-150 FEQ grinder and have used it extensively in building a Polliwog stich-n-glue dinghy from Devlin Designing Boat Builders; and it will get a lot of use on this project to be sure!

The project table has been a huge productivity boost for me as well; absolutely love all the clamping and cutting options.

Cheers
Jeff

 

[bruegf]

Welcome Jeff,

I've been looking at both the BlueJacket 24 and the Outer Banks 20.  Haven't quite decided I'm committed enough to see a project of that size through to completion.

http://www.bluejacketboats.com/bluejacket_24.htm

http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/obx.htm

Your boat reminds a bit of the C-Dory 25.  Nice looking boat.  Any idea how much it will pound in a chop.  Appears to have a relatively flat bottom for an offshore boat.

Looking forward to seeing your build progress.

Fred

 

[mhtimber]

Welcome Jeff,

Your boat reminds a bit of the C-Dory 25.  Nice looking boat.   Any idea how much it will pound in a chop.   Appears to have a relatively flat bottom for an offshore boat.

Hi Fred,

Thanks for the links, I've seen the Blue Jacket but not the Outer Banks; both look like nice boats.

I had the same question about the flat hull and have learned that you do need to slow it down in chop to prevent launching off the waves but one builder who uses the boat for commercial fishing commented that the boat runs smoothly in steep 5' - 6' chop at just below planing speeds or around 10 kts. 

The sharp entry and narrow beam will tend to part the waves rather than the boat riding up on top of the waves, so the trick is to go slow enough where the flat bottom doesn't launch  you.

I have a 32' Sea Ray Sundancer, 21 degree deadrise and 15000#, and I can't go into a 5' head sea without slowing down below 10 kts!

Reading the designer's notes he comments that the flat hull will require you to drop down to 15 - 16 kts going into 2' - 3' chop to prevent pounding and launching; I'm doing similar in the Sea Ray, especially if it's a short chop.

So, all in all, the flat hull will definitely require slowing in a choppy sea but generous flare gives her plenty of reserve bouyancy and stability for rough going.  Of the 600 or so boats made to this plan many are used for commercial fishing and the designers states she'd be good for a small long liner or lobstering; so if it's good enough for a commercial fisherman it's good enough for me.

I've spent years pouring over dozens of designs, purchasing plans for my short list of boats, and even studying yacht design through the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology program so that I'd know enough about hull design and characteristics to make an informed choice on the boat that best met my mission statement, which was:

• Design suitable for a first time boat builder who is already a reasonably skilled wood worker
• Trailerable and owner-maintainable
• Suitable for safe 3 season coastal New England cruising
• Economical and requiring minimum dealer / yard servicing
• Traditional design, not a floating condo
• Rugged enough to handle breaking through thin ice in the late fall and early spring
• Something you?d feel perfectly safe taking out late on a stormy night to pick up your wife and cats at the landing

To your point, making a commitment to a project this large and complex requires a lot of soul searching.

Enjoy your search and keep me posted!

Cheers
Jeff

[/list]

 

[bruegf]

That makes sense that it would not pound as bad with the narrow beam and fine entry it has.  Once you get it down off plane that bow should cut thru the waves quite nicely.  And as you point out, if she's being used for commercial fishing odds are high that she's been proven quite seaworthy.

Any idea of what her fuel burn numbers are, both on and off plane at her most economical speeds?  One of the things that attracted me to the two boats I mentioned is that they are both quite economical.  IIRC, Bluejacket can cruise on plane at 7-8 mpg and the Outer Banks 20 at nearly 10 mpg, although she's quite a bit smaller than the Bluejacket.  Apparently the original OB20 was planned at 24' but the first builder backed out because of health issues, and the next person that showed interested wanted a smaller boat.  Graham has stated that he intends to finish the 24' version plans when time allows.

What area of the country are you in?  I'd love to see the boat once you get her further along.

Thanks

Fred

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

That's cool, one question.

Are all boat's women? [big grin]

 

[bruegf]

Darcy,

Yes.  Here's a couple of theories as to why:

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-are-boats-called-she.htm

Fred

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Darcy,

Yes.   Here's a couple of theories as to why:

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-are-boats-called-she.htm

Fred

[thanks]

My Dad has a 27' Great Lakes boat, he always says its a woman but,
that is because it empty's his wallet faster then Mom! [big grin]

OP-that is a really sweet boat.  Good luck, don't build it in your basement. [cool]

 

[mouppe]

Darcy,

Yes.   Here's a couple of theories as to why:

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-are-boats-called-she.htm

Fred

[thanks]

Respectfully, the second point in that article is nonsense. In all the Romance languages that I know- and I speak two fluently- the word for ship is a masculine noun. Barco, navio, buque (Spanish), bateau, sous-marin, haleur (French), nave (Italian). All masculine.

I think ships are referred to in the feminine form because it personalises them in the same way as countries or flags, for example, the motherland.

Richard.

OP-that is a really sweet boat.  Good luck, don't build it in your basement. [cool]

 

[mhtimber]

Darcy,

Yes.   Here's a couple of theories as to why:

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-are-boats-called-she.htm

Fred

[thanks]

Respectfully, the second point in that article is nonsense. In all the Romance languages that I know- and I speak two fluently- the word for ship is a masculine noun. Barco, navio, buque (Spanish), bateau, sous-marin, haleur (French), nave (Italian). All masculine.

I think ships are referred to in the feminine form because it personalises them in the same way as countries or flags, for example, the motherland.

Richard.

OP-that is a really sweet boat.  Good luck, don't build it in your basement. [cool]

Actually, in the Soviet Union boats were referred to in the masculine but in the rest of Western world, to my knowledge, the standard convention is to refer to them as feminine. 

When I was in the Navy I always heard boats, ships, and submarines referred to as 'she' and I like it that way personally.

But to each his (or her) own ;-)

Cheers
Jeff

 

[mhtimber]

...
Any idea of what her fuel burn numbers are, both on and off plane at her most economical speeds?   

What area of the country are you in?   I'd love to see the boat once you get her further along.

Thanks

Fred

Hi Fred, I'm in NH.  If you're ever out here I'd love to show her off.

The designer's notes were written in the 90s, so likely were referencing 2-stroke engines.  At that time he predicted a range of 360 miles on 120 gallons of fuel, so 3 mpg at 16 kts, using a 75 hp outboard. 

I am planning on using an Evinrude E-Tec 90 and the dealer predicts fuel burn of 2 - 3 GPH at cruise which would put it anywhere between 5 - 8 mpg.  My current boat gets 1 mpg so I'll be pretty excited about whatever the number turns out to be!

Getting back to the flat bottom, that was one of the reasons why I chose this design as it will enable this boat to be on the hard and that opens up a lot really good (and largely vacant) anchoring grounds in otherwise crowded New England harbors.

Cheers
Jeff

 

[mhtimber]

Yeah, I can get the dinghy out of the basement sliders but probably not the bigger boat   [eek]

My workshop is on an island, on a lake, so I brought winter work home with me.

The boat will be built in 'man town' and then launched from my neighbors yard, here's a picture of the building shed.  I've been working on this building for 4 years, will be cutting out the windows and adding a few finishing touches this spring but it's finally time to start building the boat instead of building the building that I'll eventually build boats in (that's a tongue twister).

Jeff

 

[mouppe]

Jeff,

I agree with you. In the western world ships are generally referred to as "she."

I was just pointing out the error in the article where the author wrote "In most Indo-European languages with grammatical gender, the word for "ship" is feminine" when it clearly is not in most cases.

Richard.

 

[mhtimber]

Jeff,

I agree with you. In the western world ships are generally referred to as "she."

I was just pointing out the error in the article where the author wrote "In most Indo-European languages with grammatical gender, the word for "ship" is feminine" when it clearly is not in most cases.

Richard.

Ah, good catch.

 

[mouppe]

Back to the main subject...can we see some pictures of the boat house? It looks great!

[big grin]

 

[bruegf]

I am planning on using an Evinrude E-Tec 90 and the dealer predicts fuel burn of 2 - 3 GPH at cruise which would put it anywhere between 5 - 8 mpg.  My current boat gets 1 mpg so I'll be pretty excited about whatever the number turns out to be!

Getting back to the flat bottom, that was one of the reasons why I chose this design as it will enable this boat to be on the hard and that opens up a lot really good (and largely vacant) anchoring grounds in otherwise crowded New England harbors.

Cheers
Jeff

My 32 aluminum cruiser does almost 1.1 mpg, that almost makes it an eco friendly boat  [laughing]!! 

The flat bottom does open up possibilities, plus it should make it plane easier.  It will be very interesting to hear your thoughts on the pros/cons of the design after you have used it a couple seasons.  Given the narrow beam at the water line, do have any idea how "tender" the boat will be?  My experience has been that my narrow boats tended to heel more as weight shifted, e.g. when stepping on the gunwale to board the boat.

I've never been in the new england area but would love to get out there sometime.  Showed the boat to my wife last night when I got home - she really likes the look of it too.

I'm looking forward to watching your build progress.

Fred

 

[mhtimber]

Back to the main subject...can we see some pictures of the boat house? It looks great!

[big grin]

Ah, that was quite a project.  A good friend of mine is a builder and was the mastermind of the project; we brought out 5000+ bf of rough cut lumber by hand, in a 24' pontoon boat.  The Roof trusses were raised by hand.  The only part that was not manual labor were the 15 pre-cast footings, which were put in with an excavator while our septic system was being installed.

Last summer I had an electrician come out to the island to wire the building, hang overhead lights, and move the electrical service to better support the main house and the workshop. 

This year I'll be adding the windows and probably wrapping and doing a final siding layer of rough cut pine; but boat building will be the priority though, it's just that time!

This is our island pick-up truck; she has been used by at least 4 other islanders to build or renovate camps.  I've had close to 3000 lbs on her!

We build a 26 x 40 deck first; then started putting up the framing.  We used a lot of rough green lumber for this project; most of it came off my bandsaw mill, a Woodmizer LT40H.

Making good progress on the framing and roof trusses

More framing, not in any particular order

Some interior pix, don't mind the mess it's a construction project at this point:

And some exterior pix, work in progress, no windows yet but they are framed in:

 

[mhtimber]

I am planning on using an Evinrude E-Tec 90 and the dealer predicts fuel burn of 2 - 3 GPH at cruise which would put it anywhere between 5 - 8 mpg.  My current boat gets 1 mpg so I'll be pretty excited about whatever the number turns out to be!

Getting back to the flat bottom, that was one of the reasons why I chose this design as it will enable this boat to be on the hard and that opens up a lot really good (and largely vacant) anchoring grounds in otherwise crowded New England harbors.

Cheers
Jeff

My 32 aluminum cruiser does almost 1.1 mpg, that almost makes it an eco friendly boat  [laughing]!! 

The flat bottom does open up possibilities, plus it should make it plane easier.  It will be very interesting to hear your thoughts on the pros/cons of the design after you have used it a couple seasons.   Given the narrow beam at the water line, do have any idea how "tender" the boat will be?  My experience has been that my narrow boats tended to heel more as weight shifted, e.g. when stepping on the gunwale to board the boat.

I've never been in the new england area but would love to get out there sometime.   Showed the boat to my wife last night when I got home - she really likes the look of it too.

I'm looking forward to watching your build progress.

Fred

Ah yes, another fell gas guzzler, I think there are a lot of us out there!  Please post some pix of your aluminum cruiser, I'd love to see them.  I've heard of aluminum cruisers but have no experience with them.

From what I hear and read this boat will be quite tender but stiffen up quickly as it heals more, and then become quite stiff as more of the flare becomes immersed.

I pinged the WB forum on this topic and heard from several folks who had either owned similar boats or had the occasion to watch similar boats and their accounts jived with the designer's description of her characteristics.  Like anything, some liked it and some didn't.  The general concensus though seemed to be that these types of boat were safe and seaworthy and it really came down to preferences and intended mission.

Can't wait to provide feedback after a few seasons of use!

 

[mouppe]

Jeff,

Good photos. Do the diagonally placed planks help reinforce the structure or are they like that for aesthetic reasons?

Richard.